Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand

Billy had been a fan of Bob Dylan as a teen, and signed with Columbia Records in the early 1970s rather than Atlantic Records in part because Dylan was on Columbia. So it was natural that Billy performed Dylan's classic song "The Times They Are A Changin'" while in Russia in 1987. When Dylan released the song back in the 1960s in the United States, it perfectly captured the changing cultural and political climate of the United States including the Civil Rights movement and Free Speech movement. Billy aptly saw that something similar was happening in Russia at the time. As Rolling Stone reported: "Every night, he performed a cover of Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are-A Changin'' and gave a speech (with the aid of a translator) about the song. 'I have a feeling that what's going on in your country right now is very much like the 1960s," he said one night. "This song has been going around and around my head since I've been here.'"

Ten years later, in 1997, Billy would cover another Dylan tune, "To Make You Feel My Love" on Billy's Greatest Hits, Volume III. Billy's version actually was released before Dylan's own version. Billy has also recorded Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" on My Lives.

The Times They Are A Changin'<<>>(Kohuept) (1987) (My Lives) (2005) (A Matter of Trust) (2014)

﻿(Words and music by Bob Dylan)

Come gather ’round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou’ll be drenched to the boneIf your time to you is worth savin’Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin’

Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won’t come againAnd don’t speak too soonFor the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no tellin’ who that it’s namin’For the loser now will be later to winFor the times they are a-changin’

Come senators, congressmenPlease heed the callDon’t stand in the doorwayDon’t block up the hallFor he that gets hurtWill be he who has stalledThere’s a battle outside and it is ragin’It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your wallsFor the times they are a-changin’

Come mothers and fathersThroughout the landAnd don’t criticizeWhat you can’t understandYour sons and your daughtersAre beyond your commandYour old road is rapidly agin’Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your handFor the times they are a-changin’

The line it is drawnThe curse it is castThe slow one nowWill later be fastAs the present nowWill later be pastThe order is rapidly fadin’And the first one now will later be lastFor the times they are a-changin’

Billy performs the Bob Dylan song "The Times They Are A Changin'" on Russian television in 1987. It was the perfect song for the moment and time.

Bob Dylan performing "The Times They Are A Changin'" on U.S. television in 1964.

Billy performs Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" and discusses the time Dylan came to Billy's home with his daughter who was a fan of Billy's music, from Late Night with David Letterman (1997).

All music and lyrics by Billy Joel, except as noted. This is an unofficial fan site providing information and commentary on Billy Joel's music. It is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Billy Joel, Sony Music, Columbia Records, Maritime Music, or any Billy Joel organization. Billy Joel's official site is at BillyJoel.com.